The Cleveland Browns can’t seem to shake the ongoing conundrum that is quarterback Deshaun Watson and the hold his health and contract have over the team’s present and future.
Watson is in the fourth year of his $230 million deal, which runs through 2026 and is fully guaranteed. The team has restructured the contract multiple times, which has pushed payments off into the future and means that Cleveland will take substantial financial hits involving Watson through 2029 — potentially three years after he’s off the team.
Watson is currently rehabilitating from a twice-torn Achilles tendon that he suffered in October of last year, an injury ESPN insider Adam Schefter updated via a report on the Monday edition of “The Pat McAfee Show.”
“He’s a good month away from being cleared for any football activity,” Schefter said, per Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN.
Deshaun Watson’s Return May Cause Browns Real Financial Problems
GettyCleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson.
The troubling portion of that update from the Browns‘ perspective isn’t that Watson is a full month away from getting back on the field, it’s that he’s only a month away from potentially returning to healthy status and throwing a huge wrench into the team’s finances yet again.
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk laid out the situation on August 6.
If [Watson] can play, the Browns will have to move him to the 53-man roster or release him. That could prompt the Browns to disagree with Watson, even if it sets the stage for a formal grievance — with Watson saying he’s healthy enough to play and the Browns saying he’s not.
The stakes are high for the Browns. If they opt not to put him on the roster with their existing clusterfudge of quarterbacks, releasing him would set the stage for a devastating 2026 cap charge of $131.161 million. The best outcome for the Browns is to get Watson to want to spend the season on the PUP list.
If Watson remains on the PUP list for the entirety of the campaign, the league will afford the Browns significant salary cap relief. The organization will also be able to collect on the health insurance policy it took out on Watson, which will put actual money back into the franchise’s proverbial pocket.
Browns Set at QB With Dillon Gabriel, Shedeur Sanders and Bailey Zappe
GettyCleveland Browns quarterback Dillon Gabriel.
Cleveland doesn’t need Watson to play in 2025, even after trading Kenny Pickett before the regular season and Joe Flacco last week.
The Browns have promoted rookie Dillon Gabriel, who is 0-2 and will make the third start of his NFL career against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, October 19.
Fellow rookie Shedeur Sanders is now QB2, while fourth-year veteran Bailey Zappe is the third-string signal-caller/emergency quarterback on Sundays.
Cleveland may add a fourth QB to the practice squad after trying out Austin Reed, formerly of the Chicago Bears, late last week. But in any case, the Browns don’t need Watson.
As such, Watson getting healthy and pushing to rejoin the active roster is the last thing Cleveland wants.
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